Singapore wasn't the first country to ease Covid-19 restrictions; we took our time and cautiously entered into phases one and two of our reopening only after being sure that we were ready.

This will help us as we can learn lessons from other societies that have reopened, such as Beijing, Melbourne and Seoul.

I believe a second wave of infections is inevitable. If we accept this premise, we can then look into the potential causes of this second wave. I posit that the most likely cause of a second wave is residents being infected with the coronavirus and not reporting their symptoms to a doctor, perhaps fearing that if the number of cases in the community suddenly goes up, Singapore will reinstate circuit breaker measures.

People may mask their symptoms with over-the-counter drugs to quell their fever and herbal remedies to soothe their cough. This will trick the system in place to prevent sick individuals from spreading the virus, but will not trick the virus.

Some of them may never know they have the virus and continue to spread it in the community - this is not what we want.

I urge individuals with symptoms of Covid-19 to seek medical care immediately.

It takes maturity to cancel plans with friends and family to prevent the virus from spreading to our loved ones.

It's imperative that we remain socially responsible and keep our community safe from this unforgiving virus.

Harsh Hiwase, 19

Full-time national serviceman